


You Get What You Give

by spacerDiwyllian



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Gore, Humanstuck, Minor Violence, Murder, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-22
Updated: 2013-09-04
Packaged: 2017-12-12 15:36:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/813186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacerDiwyllian/pseuds/spacerDiwyllian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You can't stop it, you love it. The things you do at night... all the blood... and to read about it days after. You are doing something good and you know it. As long as nor your family or friends gets to know your secret you should be fine, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. prologue - Such beauty

**Author's Note:**

> I'm reuploading this work since I read through it and found so many errors it wasn't even funny. I'm sorry it's been so dead, and damn, if you still find errors, please look over them and continue reading. I did my best editing this shit. 
> 
> Other than that I wish you a pleasant reading, not sure how long this fanfic is going to be but I've planned around 14+ at least? So stick with me if you like it!

It was them. Hand in hand, laughing, probably drunk. No, not likely, _was_. He pulled up his hood a bit to be able to look at the clock before he fixed his eyes on the couple again. It had been about 20 minutes since they left the party and started walking back home, singing on some song while the man slipped in something about his two daughters who probably was at home and asleep. This made the woman giggle silly before she chose to change the subject and talk about something else.

This made him feel bad, just having to listen to their slurred words while the man brought home a unknown woman to his home ... to his sleeping children. He knew what they was planning to do and he thought to stop it.

They had now reached the edge of a block, a neat and probably very expensive neighborhood. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything other than the two people in front of him, for he knew it was time. They couldn't move further into the neighborhood, there was a risk that someone would hear, or that something would go wrong and he couldn't leave evidence behind. He knew that the slightest evidence could lead to his downfall. He had work to do, oh so much work.  
He interrupted his thoughts to straighten the bag hanging over his shoulder, it was a simple school bag, nothing that aroused suspicion. After that, he pulled the hood to expose his face, cleared his throat to find his voice before he shouted;

"Uhm, hey! Excuse me sir and ma'm, but can you tell me what time it is? My cell phone doesn't have any battery an' I was goin' to be home before one o'clock." He ran up the two before he put on an innocent smile on his lips. They were still drunk so they wouldn't worry about small details.

The man turned around, blinked and focused his eyes on the boy in front of him before he mumbled something and grabbed his own mobile. He felt that the woman who was with him probably hung on him because he had 'the money', she was completely over the man's level. Nice figure, great lips, long curly hair and beautiful cheekbones. The man was more chubby, had stubble and was probably the one that scratched his balls in public or at meetings.

"Kid, are you listening? I said it's over one o'clock." The man seemed irritated, likely to have been disturbed. It just took him longer to get the woman in his arms in bed. Disgusting human.

"Yeah, I heard ... I guess I Should hurry home then. Thanks." He gave the two a slight nod and began to rush forward again, 10 steps ... That's it. He brought his fingers further down in the thick pocket of his jacket, careful to only touch with his plastic gloves and no other part of the skin. 1 ... 2 ... He heard they kissed each other behind his back. 3 ... 4 ... Was any of the houses lit? At least none that could see them. 5 ... 6 ... He thought about the man's height, it wouldn't be clever to miss and have to shoot again. 7 ... 8 ... two bullets, it was everything he expected to use. 9 ... 10 ... It was time.

Without saying anything, without making the slightest sound as he pulled the pistol from his pocket, turned and aimed it straight at the man's chest. The heart, nothing else. Neither one of the two had time to react before the first shot had been fired and the man staggered, lost its grip on the woman's waist and fell to the ground. He coughed, blood flew out of his mouth before his head fell to the side and his eyes remained empty.

Of course it didn't take long for the woman to understand what had happened, she had apparently not been as drunk as she claimed to be. He grimaced before she quickly put her hand in front of her mouth and started screaming. Her dark eyes flew over the dead man on the ground while his shirt quickly stained darker by the blood. The woman then turned to him, but before she could say anything or continue shouting he fired another shot to her neck.

The scream was canceled and turned into a sharp gurgling sound, a struggle for air. She knelt down beside the man, and a huge puddle of blood formed in her mouth and started to fall down on the ground, she looked terrified. He liked it, not only liked ... he enjoyed the hell out of it.

"It's alright, I'm goin' to end it now." With a straight face, he raised his gun one last time and fired his third shot. One more than he bargained for. The woman winced before she fell down in her own blood and remained still. "It's a shame though ... you were really beautiful." He tilted his head slightly, waited until the gun went cold and then put it back in his coat pocket, where it was safe for now. Now it was just the last bit left, which resulted in not to leave any clues, not the smallest. He disliked this piece the most, but it had to be done for his own safety.

Without hesitation, he lifted the bag from his shoulder, opened it and looked at all the gear that was neatly wrapped and waiting for him. Scalpels, tweezers, gloves, various cleaners and rags. None of this had ever been touched by his own two hands, not even the rags and everything was carefully cleaned and would be cleaned again when he got home.

Just to get started.


	2. Time to meet the Serket family!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've put human names on Dualscar and Mindfang. Dualscar is Osgar and Mindfang is Mathilda.

_carcinoGeneticis logged in_

Wow, perfect, just the man he was looking for. A boy of 17 years sat closed in in a half-dark room, the clock was approaching half past five in the evening and it was probably almost time for dinner. His father used to texting when everything was up set and ready to be eaten, it was easier than having to shout over the giant house they lived in.  
The boy put down his scissors and a newspaper clipping before he put his fingers to the keyboard of his laptop. Soon he had clicked the person who just logged in and began to write:

CA: hey there kar wwhats up 

Oh, he felt so silly every time he used his 'quirk' as his friends called it. It was some stupid thing they started several years ago ... a kind of writing manner appropriate to each one of his twelve 'friends'. He wasn't so sure if he could call all of them his friends anymore, the only ones he really talked to nowadays was Karkat, Feferi, Kanaya, and... Vriska. They had all met in middle school through Karkat and Sollux who chose to gather a bunch of people to play a 'game' as they cooked up with a strange girl named Aradia.

They had even managed to get four more people (they came with involuntary), and together they had come up with characters, designs, different chat names (they still used them along with the way they write) and everything had worked perfect only until everything went crazy and they started to 'kill' each other.

CG: WHAT I'M DOING IS NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS AMPORA! CARE TO TELL ME WHY THE FUCK YOU'RE BUGGING ME ALL OF A SUDDEN?

Ah, wonderful Karkat Vantas and his caps lock, thanks to his eternal nagging about being the 'leader' and his tendency to speak too loud too often. He was still the same man, almost, like four years ago.

CA: you dont havve to be so fuckin rude kar i wwas just goin to ask you about tomorroww  
CA:like wwhat time should i be there an howw many are comin

He himself, Eridan, had his quirk through his constant stuttering on the double w's and his way of avoiding g:s on : ing words. Admittedly, it was more out of an accent which he inherited from his father.

CG: WELL I'M FUCKING SORRY THEN. IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD COME HERE HALF AN HOUR EARLIER THAN ALL OF THE OTHERS, I WAS GOING TO LET CAPTOR HELP ME FIRST BUT HE'S BUSY WITH SOME USELESS SHIT. LIKE I CARE.  
CG: IT'S YOU, ME, MARYAM, CAPTOR, PEIXES, MAKARA, NITRAM, LALONDE AND PYROPE. THE OTHERS 'COULDN'T MAKE IT'.  
CG: MORE LIKE ZAHHAK DIDN'T WANT TO SO HE DIDN'T LET LEIJON JOIN, MEDIGO IS FUCKING SCARY AND SERKET WAS GOING ON A DATE WITH SOME DUDE, SHE DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE ME A NAME.  
CG: BUT I GUESS YOU CAN ASK HER ABOUT IT TONIGHT. JUST DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME LATER. 

Oh my god... his quirk gave him a headache.

CA: i see yeah thats ok i guess its not like ivve anythin better to do  
CA: WWAIT WWHAT wwhat do you mean ASK HER TONIGHT  
CA: im not goin anywwhere tonight an im not plannin to meet her any fuckin time soon  
CG: WAIT... SO NO ONE TOLD YOU? FUCK DUDE.  
CA: told me WWHAT kar  
CG: THAT'S SHE'S EATING AT YOUR PLACE MAYBE? SHE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT IT BEFORE, HER MOM FORCED HER TO JOIN TOGETHER WITH HER STUPID ASS COUSIN.  
CA: fuckin hell i dont wwant to havve HER ovver  
CA: not NOWW 

Why had no one said anything to him about this? Just the thought of sitting and eating with the Serket family made him feel bad. Everyone knew that family, everyone knew the slut her mother _really_ was. She was like a 'black widow' away from that she never actually killed anyone, but she had a tendency to twist wealthy men around her finger, create a relationship, get married if she could and then dump them as soon as it was legal for her to steal their money.  
Would she try this on his dad this time? Hell ... they were screwed.  
His mobile gave out a sound and the illuminated screen indicated that he'd received a message, he opened it and read it quickly. Karkat was right ... they had visitors.

CA: hey man i need to go noww dinner is ready wwish me luck  
CG: GOOD FUCKING LUCK DUDE. DON'T DIE ON ME, I NEED YOU TOMORROW.

He grinned before he changed his status to 'away', getting up from the bed and slipped away to his wardrobe on his right side. Might as well dress up, probably everyone else did it and although he disliked the Serket family he didn't have the stomach to show up in some rather coarse rags.

Eridan opened the dark blue door, half of his room was decorated in a navy blue color mixed with violet, and stared at himself in the full-length mirror. His always so neat hair was a mess, mostly because he hadn't plan to go anywhere or meet other people, today. He hadn't got the strength to fix his usual hairstyle either, so he simply had to make do with a quick styling after the clothing replacement. Hmm, he should recolor that stain of violet in his bangs too, it had begun to fade. His otherwise auburn hair looked good, however, he was careful to take care of it considering all the different products it was exposed for almost every day.

He shook once lightly on the head and turned his attention to his clothes, he had to hurry, not view himself in the mirror. He took out a purple shirt, a pair of black jeans and a tie. It ought to be satisfactory? Ugh, who cared. It took him all in all a quarter to pull on his clothes and bring order to the hair, which refused to collaborate with him, and soon he was proud to see himself in the mirror and nodded likely. It worked. He then pulled on his black, thick glasses and hurried out of the room to the main dining room. Where else would they be? 

* * * * 

"Oh, you're so funny Osgar!" A female, quite made laughter was heard from the dining room which caused his stomach to tie. How long was they going stay? Not too long, he hoped ... Otherwise, he could just lie and say that he had a headache, or that he needed to study.

Eridan took a deep breath before he chose to push up the giant door into the room and everyone almost immediately became quiet. He pulled his gaze across the table, bowed quickly and greeted the family.  
"Hello Miss Serket, Vriska aaaand..." He glanced at an unknown girl who sat next to Vriska, she had a pair of white glasses and thick light brown hair. She actually looked pretty nice.  
"Ah, hello Eridan! It's really nice to finally meet you! The wonderful girl at my side is Aranea, a cousin of ours." Mathilda smiled at him.

He chose to nod in reply and give Aranea a slight wave before he sat down next to his brother. What was he doing here?

"That took ye time, son. Did you miss my text?" His father had secured all of his attention on him and he was close to giving him a angr reply back about something specific like; 'I forgot to tell you about our guests!', but eventually chose to just say yes.

"I was busy talkin' with Kar about tomorrow, sorry."

”That's alright, at least yer here now ay.” His father then chose to turn his gaze from him and attach it to their feminine guest, or yes, more of her giant cleavage. Only he kept quiet and not snapped at someone he should be able to get out of this alive, he was still interested about his brother though and what the hell he was doing there. He had moved out several years ago, or, three to be exact, and the only times they saw the heck out of him was when he needed to borrow money, at festivals and birthdays.

”Psst, how's it hanging there lil kid?” His brother poked him in the arm with the back of his fork to catch his attention. First he tried to just ignore it, but when his brother continued to poke he realized that he wouldn't get away.

”What?” He said angrily, but low so that the others wouldn't be disturbed. 

”Hey, easy there! I'm just checking in on my brother, is that so wrong?” He smirked. 

”Right now? Yes it fuckin' is Cro, I just want to eat my fuckin' dinner an' go back to my room.” Eridan began to pour out dinner on his plate.

”Heh, still using those short names? How's school? Getting good grades and all that?” 

”Mm.” If he used short answer maybe he would stop?

”Still the same I see, well can't blame ya. Not easy being alone with dad in this big fucking house... yeah and the maids. Heh, I sure miss those. Anyway, you should come by my place sometime, it's really sweet. I got everything set up right as I want it and...” 

Ugh silencing him someone? He chose to just nod occasionally and 'hmm'a consent until his brother, Cronus, chose to switch to another victim, Vriskas cousin. She seemed to enjoy the conversation more, and if he were to be honest, it felt as if she wrote down everything Cronus said in her head. Were they the same age? It almost seemed like it, even if Aranea appeared some years younger.

”Are ye plannin' on stayin' here for a while, Aranea?” His father cut off Cronus conversations and Aranea blinked, put on a smile before she nodded.

”Oh yes! I really like it here and I need a fresh new start. I've heard you have some great schools here?” 

”Heh, if we do, one a the finest if ye ask me. Ye should really get in contact with Condelias oldest daughter, she's around yer age an' a fresh young woman. Bet ye would be great friends, I'll give ye her number before ye leave.”

”That would be really nice of you, Mr Ampora. I look forward to meet this, uhm, girl.” 

Eridan rolled his bored eyes. Wonderful, the Peixes family, and he assumed that his dad was talking about Meenah. A rebellious tomboy who seemed to pull down all of her friends in a bunch of crap. He knew that Cronus and she were friends, not the best though, but very close. They had met through him and Feferi when the two were younger and wanted to see a movie that was not really allowed for children under 13 years, after they had begun to meet occasionally and Cronus seemed to have some interest in trying to play all the music he created for her. Poor thing.

”Dad, can I leave the table? I have some homework to do before tomorrow.” He really tried to be social, but he couldn't really bear to see his dad and that hag sit and flirt with each other. He was quite surprised that Vriska had stayed so calm, he had expected that she would be worse to him. Perhaps it was because her mother was there?

”Yeah sure, have fun.”His father didn't even seem to have listened to him, fine. Eridan stood up, said a quick goodbye to his brother and Aranea, skipped over Vriska and that hag before he hurried out of the dining room and set off to his own room again.

He didn't, however, get pretty far before he heard another familiar voice behind him, he knew it was too good to be true.

”Heeeeeeeey there asshole. Planning on leaving so soon? What a shame, really.” Vriska grinned widely at him. ”I belive my mom and your dad is going to chat for another hour or two so I'm planning on staying with you until we leave! Care to show me around in my soon-to-be-my-home?” 

”I don't have time for a bitch like you today. Don't you have a date to plan or some shit?” He didn't care about being nice, not against her, not when they were alone.

”Oh, so you've heard about it? How cute of you to think about my love life Ampora. At least I have one!” She laughed. 

Did she ever shut up? He could almost bet that she had been planning that whole conversation during dinner, anything to annoy him. Given that she managed to give him a headache, he assumed it worked.

He chose not to answer her as he usually would do, but started to step straight to his room where he could easily sit down at the computer and ignore her completely. Vriska continued to follow him, but chose to draw attention to the surroundings rather than him when she had never been this deep into his home before.

”Hey, who are these guys?” Vriska stopped in front of a row of hand-painted paintings and Eridan stopped to see what she meant.

”Just my old grandfathers and shit, nothin' special. I do descend from a high and formal family you know. We have _earned_ our money and titels such as general, count... one of them was even in controll of an old queens guards.” He shrugged as if they were nothing special, even if he looked up to his family and line very much. His father had managed to inherit a lot of titles from his father and grandfather.

He remembered how he used to brag about this as a child and how he thought that all of the others would look up to him because he would inherit these titles after his own father and his son would inherit them from him. He had been buried in books of ancient conquerors, learned about their way of thinking, their way of creating strategies and how they come to their doom. There were very few powerful men who survived to old age, most had probably become addicted to power and pulled under by their desires.

He had also promised himself not to end up like them, he knew what he was doing, what he wanted to achieve and he tended to continue to the end.

Vriska seemed to be quite impressed and stood and gaped at the men who all stood and posed in some half stupid way, which apparently would be stylish, but turned away as soon as she realized what she was doing and said: ”Hah, that's nothing. Your family is stupid.” Typically her. 

”That's all you can think of? Stupid? Damnit Vris, you've really fuckin' lost some a your bullyin' glory.” Eridan shook his head before he turned and continued forward, his room was just behind the corner, where he could escape her.

”I haven't lost it! I'm just not in the mood right now, ok?” She crossed her arms 

”Yeah yeah, whatever.” 

”What do you mean whatever? I'm not the only here who've lost the old joy of being rude huh.” 

”I haven't lost it Vris, I only prefer not usin' it against you anymore. You're not worth it.” 

”Why? What have I done? You've been stone cold against me for ages now, don't you remember those good old times?” 

”I remember... I also remember that time a fuckin' bitch decided to block me an' stop talk to me for almost half a year!” Eridan stopped and turned the other way around to face Vriska. ”An' guess what, I still don't know why since _this bitch_ won't tell me what the fuck I did wrong!”

Vriska stared back and remained silent for a while before she broke the silence with an insecure laugh, something she then regretted because she stopped and fell silent again. 

”Still not over that? It was over two years ago... I did something stupid and if it makes you feel any better; I'm sorry.” She turned a blind eye to the pictures again, which meant that the last part was more of a mumble than a real sorry.

”You're what?” 

”Nothing... just... shup up! I don't care about you, our stupid old friendship or anything for that matter!” 

”Sure, if you want it that fuckin' way. Go back to your cousin an' leave me the fuck alone. I'm goin' to my room an' you're NOT welcome there or in this family. I don't want you here an' I feel sorry for everyone that has to be around you!” 

Without waiting for a response from Vriska he rushed from her with irritated steps, he couldn't listen to her half dodgy excuses. And she also had the nerve to follow him and believe that they were friends again just because they sat at the same table? Hah, she must have a screw loose. She was annoying and he refused to let her family be a part of his own, unfortunately, his own father was just too stupid to understand what was going on so he guessed he had to take care of this himself. But not yet, he had other things planned.

Soon he was finally in his room, he gave out a relieved sight before he irritably shuffled off to his bed and sat down. Were there any online? He needed to talk to someone so he could calm down.

His gray eyes swept across the computer screen until they stopped on the name ' _cuttlefishCuller_ ' who seemed to be online. If there was someone he could talk to at any time, it was her.

CA: hey fef are you there 

It didn't take long before he got an answer.

CC: )(-EY -Eridan! )(ow are you? 38) 

Eridan smirked at her quirk. During their game, she had decided that she would be of royal descent, a fish princess. Most probably due of her zodiac sign which happened to be pisces, it was also from there she got the H's which she exchanged for)(.

CA: not so good actually vvris an her family is here an i think i just had a fight wwith her again   
CC: O)(? Did s)(e do somefin?  
CA: kinda she asked me wwhy i ignore her an i told her the truth  
CA: an because shes vvris she couldnt handle that shit an came up wwith some kind a bullshit   
CA: an i snapped   
CA: i mean howw can she think im just gonna talk to her after wwhat she did its her owwn fault   
CC: 38o   
CC: W)(ale... s)(e did block you so I guess w)(at you did was kind of rig)(t?   
CA: KIND of no fef it WWAS right i wwish id said evven more she fuckin deservves it   
CC: )(mm, I'm nout so s)(ore aboat t)(at... you )(ave to t)(ink -Eridan. S)(es been )(aving a t)(oug)( life and )(er mom... yea)(, you get it.   
CA: yeah i knoww fef but still her mom is tryin to hook up wwith my dad noww   
CA: hell i wwant HER as my stepsister   
CC: )(--E)(--E, don't worry! Your dad isn't stupid, I've meet )(im PL—EANTY OF TIM--ES! 38)   
CC: Take it easy and stay in your room until t)(ey left t)(e )(ouse.  
CA: yeah i guess thats the only thing i CAN do right noww   
CC: --EXACTLY! Glub glub!   
CC: But )(ey, you're coming tomorrow rig)(t?   
CA: glub glub on you too   
CA: yes i am kar said youre comin too   
CC: S)(ell Y----ES I am! We can talk more t)(en? I )(ave to go now, sadly enoug)(.   
CA: sure see you tomorroww then   
CC: S-----EA YOU! 

_cuttlefishCuller logged out_


	3. You ain't fooling no one

A whole new day! The sun was shinning bright outside the window, the birds were singing loudly and everything felt wonderful! 

Or not. 

Actually, it was raining and his head felt like it was going to explode, after getting less sleep than planned, and the only birds he could hear was someone knocking at his damn door. Who the hell was it?

”Stop that fuckin' bangin' and come in already!” Eridan sat up, picked up his glasses that rested on the table next to the bed before he stared at the person who had entered. What the hell ... the person to step in was not what he had hoped for, it was the person he wanted to meet LEAST. Ever.

”Good morning Eridan! Your dad's still asleep so I though I could have a talk with you for a while? I'm sorry if I woke you up.” His dads new, horrible and ugly girlfriend stepped inside the room, closed the door and sat down on the edge of his big bed.

”Uhm... no worry, I was goin' to wake up soon anyway.” A lie. But why was she still here? Hadn't she followed Vriska and her cousin back home? Did he even want to know? ”What do you wanna talk about?” It felt horrible to try to act nice around her.

”I...” Mathilda shrugged. ”I just want to know what you think about your dad and me? Does it feel weird? I think you're a wonderful boy Eridan and I would love to get to know you more. Vriska won't tell me much about you so I guess I have to go to the main source for information.” She gave him an ugly smile, in an attempt to look friendly, and he hated it. He hated her face, her voice, her background... But he couldn't tell her that, no not yet. 

”Uh, to be honest I'm not sure yet... I mean this is the first time we've really taked to each other and yeah... I don't know much about you? Dad's not tellin' me much.” This wasn't actually a lie since his dad didn't really talk to him unless during dinner or special holidays. There simply wasn't any need to and he was way too busy with his work to care about him and the things he did. ”What time is it anyway?” 

Maybe he could lie about being late to something... wait he was going to Karkat's place today. 

Mathilda starred at him before before nodding at his phone on the table. ”Why won't you look for youself?” 

Eridan reached for the phone and unlocked it to be able to see the display. He really had to change background soon, but not now. The time showed around half past 8 in the morning and her let out an inner sigh. Who the hell got up this early in the morning, on a saturday? 

”Damn!” Eridan put the phone down again, it was time to use his famous acting skills. Mathilda only gave him a confused look, but before she got a chance to say anything Eridan continued. ”I'm meetin' up with Kar around 10 so I really need to make myself ready.” 

”Oh, I see! Well that's alright, I won't keep you here at your will. I can make you some breakfast if you want to?” 

Who was she fooling? Trying to act like a good mother or some shit by making him breakfast? Like he would fall for that bullshit. 

”No, it's alright I can make it on my own.” Mathilda nodded once again before she rose up from the bed and started to walk against the door. 

”Hey, before I leave... you know you can talk to me right? Whenever you're feeling down, having problems... yeah you know. Just call me! I might not look like a good mother, but I am and I _am_ a good listener too.” She gave him one last smile before leaving the room and him alone, and for once he didn't know what to say. 

* * * * 

The clock striked 10 and Eridan stopped his car on a parkinglot right outside Karkats apartment. It was a pretty shitty place, to be honest and he hated everything about it. Even though Eridan tried to move Karkats shitty movie night over to his place he kept talking about being a good host and something with 'if we can't have it at my place it won't feel like MY movie night!' and in the end he just gave up an went with it. At least he got to talk face to face with Feferi again, they hadn't been the same since she started to hang more and more with Captor... or _Crap_ tor as he usually called him. 

Ugh, Karkat would probably yell at you for being at his place this early, the others wouldn't show until around three in the afternoon... now when he thought about it, maybe he should have called him first? Or spent an hour or two in town? Well, what's done it's done and maybe he could nap for a while on Karkats couch? 

He started to walk aginst the entrance and took a look around the 'garden', not sure if you could even call it that. Some old chairs was standing on the grass together with one small table, the grass seemed to had grown a little too high and it was full with old beer cans, garbage and toys. 

How could Karkat live here? How did he survive? Yeah sure, the rent was low, but otherwise... gross. At least the inside wasn't all that bad, it was clean and tidy, and they had recently repainted the walls to some ugly ass brown color. 

Karkat's apartment was on the second floor and today it felt like a stuggle to walk up those few stairs and to reach his door a few meters away. God damnit, he was going to yell at him for waking him up. 

Eridan knocked a few times, waited for someone to open before he knocked again, higher. Still no answer? Fucking great! He then reached for his phone, searched for Karkats number before pressing 'call'. He was almost on his way to give up on the phone too, but right before he took the phone away from his ear he heard a voice on the other side of the line. 

”Yeah? What the fuck do you want and don't you know I'm sleeping?” Good old Karkat alright. 

”Hello on you too Kar... I know you're fuckin' sleepin' why do you think I'm callin' for? I've been knockin' on your ugly ass door for a while now an' it's gettin' annoyin'!” 

”Are you at my place? Why the hell are you at my place this early Ampora? Not even I am at my place. Go back to sleep idiot!” 

”I am at your place to fuckin' run from Vris mother, it's a long story so don't ask... anyway, were the hell are you if not at home?” He couldn't help but feel a little irritated since he never mentioned going to someone yesterday. 

”I'm at uh... at Terezi's place. But hey, that's fine, you came with your car right? Can you come pick us up?” 

So he was nothing but a free ride now? Great... 

”Yeah how else? Sure, I'll be there in twenty. Make sure you're ready.” 

 

* * * * 

 

Once again he parked his car, outside a duplex. This time the enviroment looked a lot better and he could actually step outside and feel a little like home, maybe because Terezi still lived at home with her parents? Her mom worked as some kind of cop, and her dad worked as some hairdresser down the street. He didn't really care since they weren't the closest friends, but a little did he know about her. As that both her and Karkat had a thing for one and another, and that they even knew about it, but decided to stay as friends. 

Love, he would never truly understand it. He had only been in love once in his life when he was around 14 years old, it had been some girl in school. She turned him down though and after that he only flirted with people he found interesting. Hell he had even flirted with Karkat once, but he had been drunk and thought Karkat was some handsome, alone dude that he'd never met before. They both had agreed to never talk about that one time, ever again. 

Anyway, before he got a chance to drag it out even longer he started to walk up against the front door and held out a finger to ring the doorbell but before he got a chance to, someone opened the door and gave out a loud giggle. 

”Eridan! Hey! Come in, you don't have to ring that stupid bell!” Terezis face was a cheerful as ever and her lips showed a big grin, which of course ment she was happy. 

”Heh hey Ter, I'm just doin' what every man should do before enterin' a house that's not yours.” He shrugged and stepped inside only to meet up with Karkats face seconds after. He was quick today, almost too quick... he gave Karkat a frown before turning to Terezi again. ”Are we leavin' right away or should we try to find somethin' to occopy us with until twelve, at least?” 

”Dude, why did you give me that fucking face? Have I done something wrong?” Karkat glared at him before crossing his arms. Eridan only gave him another shrug. 

”I'm not sure? We could play some games? I've lots of that crap laying around... Do you like board games? Clue is one if my favorites but Karkat won't play it with me since he thinks it's stupid.” 

”I never said I think it's stupid! I said it was stupid to play it with two players...” Karkat started to mumble to himself, a bad habit of his. 

”Whatever, I'm here now so why not give it a shot? But hey Ter, aren't you like half blind or some shit? It won't be a fair game if-” 

”Who are you taking me for fish boy? I might be half blind, but I can still see things that are covered in red right? Why do you think I'm wearing red glasses dumbass?” Terezi cut him off before he had a chance to finish and she didn't even look sorry, no more like her grin became bigger for each word before ending her sentance by tapping at a pair of red glasses resting on her face.

”Who are you callin' a fishboy landhag?” Eridan couldn't help but return her words, it was like she begged for it. No wonder Karkat liked her so much, you never knew her next move. 

* * * * 

”I suspect the victim was killed in the office by no less than... Eridan!” 

”I... what?” Eridan looked up from his papper and stared at Terezi who grinned over at him. 

”You character?” She pointed at Colonel Mustard before picking up a small gun resting in the living room. ”And I belive this is the murder weapon. Classic... but stupid. People who use guns as a killing weapon always gets caught in the end.” She shrugged before turning her head over at Karkat, who'd pretty much only walked around with his character, Miss Scarlett. 

”Not everyone gets cought you know...” Eridan picked up a yellow envelope and gave it to Terezi, she'd made a guess so she had the right to look inside of it. ”Not if you do it in the right way.” 

”Hm?” She rasied one eyebrow. ”Oh! Are you talking about that serial killer who's walking around at night? _The Orphaner_? Yeah I have to admit he's really good... haven't left a single trace since his first murder. It's a mastermind of high class right there. Though...” She opened the envelope and dragged three cards out of it and her smirk became bigger. ”...he needs to be careful. One single mistake and the police will be on to him like a hawk. It takes a mastermind to beat a mastermind.” She layed all three of the cards on the board. Colonel Mustard, the gun and the office. 

Eridan stared at her before giving the cards one last look, their game was done and she'd won. Yay, great for her. But it was something with the way she'd talked about The Orphaner that made him feel uncomftable... She seemed too confident and damn, he knew that if she'd ever become a lawyer of any kind she'd put everyone behind bars. A sharp brain. 

”I guess you're right... He will stay active until the day he meets you.” He gave her a fast wink before he started to clean away the game. It was getting late and they had to get back to Karkats apartment before the others arrived. 

”How flattering Ampora, since when did you become a gentleman?” She chuckled, rose up from the floor to put away the game in one of her shelfs. 

”Oh I've always been one, I just don't like showin' it. The same goes for Kar.” 

”Hey! Where did I come from? Shut it, you know nothing about me.” Karkat finally rose from the floor too and started to walk out of Terezis room. ”Stop hitting on each other now and go and get dressed! We're going to get late!” 

”You're making me swoon Karkat!” Terezi made a swooning gesture before winking back at Eridan. ”But yeah, you're right we should go. Ladies first!” She moved at the side so that Eridan could walk past her and he stopped, gave her his middle finger before he followed Karkat out to the hall. 

”Watch out, you wouldn't want anything happen to those rings of yours right?” She shook her head and walked after them both. 

* * * * 

The first guest arrived around 3 o'clock. It was Gamzee, whom seemed as gone as ever, and only some minutes later Kanaya showed up. The four of them then spent an hour just trying to cook some kind of eatable food. 

After that Tavros and Rose showed up, so they mostly put the food away, waiting for the last two, and talked. 

Sollux and Feferi showed up together around half past 4, and to the others suprise, hand in hand. 

”Oh my! When did this happen?” Kanaya gave them both a hug to show her support and smiled widely. 

”Heh, it happened only a few days ago, actually. We felt like we wanted to wait a little until we made it 'big' you know? Sollux, can you take it?” Feferi returned Kanayas smile and turned to Sollux so that she could give him a light kiss on his left cheek. 

”Yeah sure.”

”Thanks!” She then procceded to move over to Eridan, who was standing all the way over at Karkats couch. 

”You look as happy as always!” She pinched his arm before giving him a hug too. ”We can talk as soon as the first movie started, I guess you're not _reely_ interested in watching a shitty romcom right?” 

Eridan, of course, was busy glaring over at Sollux until Feferi pinched him again. ”Uh w-what?” 

”I know you don't like Sollux that much but please give him a chance, for me?” Feferi pursed her lips. ”Anyway I said we can talk when the movie has started, if you still want too that is. Though, if I know you right you're always in a whiny mood.” She giggled. 

No, he didn't like Sollux, at all. He was a bipolar douche and he didn't deserve Feferi. But hey, who was he to judge... if Feferi was happy it was fine by him. She was his best friend and as long as they stayed that way and she didn't forget about him... yeah. 

”I don't really care, congrats. An' yeah sure we can talk I don't really give a crap about those romcoms anyway.” 

Feferi let out a small laugh and shaked her head before grabbing his arm to drag him back against the others, it was time for dinner. 

* * * * 

The living room was now darkened and the only light sorce came from the TV that was now showing 'Shall We Dance' with that Lopez actress. Like he knew or gave a shit, the only thing he really cared about was sitting in the back with Feferi as they were quietly chatting about yesterday.   
Eridan had just told her about how he and Vriska had been talking in the hallway together and how he'd yelled at her, told her his exact thoughts and Feferi was slowly nodding at times to show that she still listened. 

”I just don't get how she can act like nothin's wrong? It's like she don't give a fuckin' shit about anythin'.” Eridan let out a sigh as he leaned backwards against the wall, his eyes moving between the TV screen and his friend. It was probably over an hour left on that thing. 

”Oh, I'm sure she cares, she just don't know how to show it. I think it's her way to say sorry and ask about a second chance. You two were very close before, I bet she miss hanging out with you!”

”I don't care if she does, unless she can look straight into my face an' say 'sorry for fuckin' up Eridan, can we be friends again' I'm not givin' in. Besides, if her mom and dad becomes any closer I'm flippin', I don't want her as my sister or even in my damn house.”

Feferi grimaced and gave him a fast pat on his knee, ready to say something but got interuppted by Sollux who seemed to want some attention too; ”...nothing to worry about. Love you too. Yeah.” Eridan chewed annoyed on the inside of his cheek as he waited for them to finish their talk. Maybe he should have taken this with Karkat instead? 

Feferi didn't understand how serious this was, he really didn't want that hag to move closer on to his dad, not with her reputation and history... he was sure she had something planned but no one, besides him, seemed to realize that. Maybe Cronus would understand and help? Just maybe, he could be to some use and actually help his damn family. He had to talk to him later, but not right now. Right now he needed to breath, clear his thoughts somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before hatin' on Terezis blind thingie. That's actually a thing since I've met a person who'd been into a fight and hurt one of his eyes and he could only see REALLY bright colors, like red. So yeah, at leas she's not fully blind.


	4. Don't play with fire, you might get burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, it's been so long since I updated. I'm really sorry! I've been working on this chapter since May now and I haven't had time to finish it until today. (More like it's 3am and I can't sleep so sorry if the end is messy or if missed a word or two.) 
> 
> I'm really looking forward to write the next chapter, even if it might take just as long time as this did. Heh. We're going back in time! But now, it's time for a brotherly talk.

_'Parents fear him, childern fear him. When will the cops finally arrest this person called The Orphaner? He's been running around for way too long now and just some days ago he once again took a parent away from his child. This is not acceptable and the police aren't doing enough to stop this lunatic. ”We don't have enough traces.” they say; ”He's like the new Jack The Ripper.”  
Is this true? Maybe it is. People all around has started to study his pattern, they try to understand how, and what, he's thinking and where he might strike next. But since the murders never happen at the same place and sometimes in different cities, no one has a clue. Some would even call him a criminal 'mastermind', a brain on its own and...'_

Bullshit. 

Eridan threw the magazin on to his bed, reminding himself to cut out the article later when he came back home, right now he didn't have time. He was going to meet up with his brother in just 20 minutes and had to leave soon. They had much to discuss; he just hoped his brother realized how serious this was and wouldn't try to joke it away, like he always did. 

Soon Eridan was sitting safely behind the wheel of his Toyota Verso, eased on the brakes and started to drive out of the yard and into the center of the town, where he would meet with Cronus for a quick lunch before they moved in to his apartment for a more personal conversation. 

Cronus seemed to look forward to show him his new apartment, an apartment he had for almost a year now, which Eridan never "had time to see." Rather, he never cared about either his brother or his stupid life and it was not often they met outside the family days and dinners, most of it was because Cronus was busy working and living way too big dreams. He refused to take a firm, well paying job just because he had the intention of becoming any kind of musician and that he must be able to quit his job quickly and without hesitation if he ever got a deal. 

Idiot.

Eridan slowed down and parked the car in a small parking lot which was designed only for guests to the restaurant. Cronus had first tried to drag him to a small and inexpensive eatery, but just the thought almost made him sick, so he had only said that their dad's paying for lunch and it had finally gotten him to change into something a little better.

Eridan turned his head and looked through the window after his brother, but the parking lot was empty except for one car further away. It didn't belong to Cronus since he had sold his car a long time ago and refused to get a new one when he seemed to prefer public transport instead. 

Without paying anymore attention to the environment he stepped out of the car, locked it carefully and began to move to the front of of the building. More likely he would wait there, as long as he wasn't late, though then he would have sent a message or something similar. He just hoped that Cronus had not forgotten the lunch…

Unfortunately, he had remembered it. Cronus was leaning against the wall, his hands hidden in a worn skin jacket while an unlighted cigarette rested in his mouth. He had the habit of just stopping cigarettes in his mouth and then never light them, no one knew why and people had stopped asking a long time ago because they never got a sensible answer.

"Hey, been waitin' long?" Eridan stopped and waved vaguely to his brother, who quickly straightened up and took out his arms out in an attempt to snatch a hug. Eridan slipped away, shaking his head and moved against the entrance.

"When will you learn to hug, huh? I haven't seen you since that dinner and you went as quickly as you came."

"Figured you were busy with Vris's cousin. She seemed to have a lot to ask. However, we're talkin' right now, aren't we?" He avoided the question and nodded to the now open door. "Hurry up, I'm hungry."

Five minutes later they were sitting at a table close to the corner, a more private table for a private conversation. No one ever paid attention to the people sitting in corners. Sadly enough the restaurant was pretty much built out of glass so they were still an easy target for curious eyes on the street outside. 

"So ... how 's school going? Gettin' good grades I hope! " Cronus flipped quickly through his menu, unsure of what he wanted to order. Eridan already knew what meal he wanted so he didn't even bother to open his, instead he focused his gaze out the window where he didn't see much else than cars, buildings and an old lady walking her dog.

"Yeah, I guess so. At least I care about my grades, an' I don't feel like talkin' about school right now, it's summer. " Eridan rolled his eyes, which made his brother understand that he was bored with the conversation already so he cleared his throat lightly and changed to a topic that would caught his interest a bit more.

"What do you think about that babe dad's dating? I'm not sure, I mean yeah she seem alright but at the same time ... you know what they say about her ." Cronus shrugged while finally taking his cigarette out of his mouth.

Eridan nodded and fixed his eyes on Cronus and straightened his back while he thought about a reply.

"She's not a babe, Cro, she's more like a... spider. You won't know if she's dangerous or safe before it's too late and then, you're already stuck in her net. " He smacked his tongue against his palate before he continued. "I know Ter's mom has been on her case at some points, but since no one wants to witness against her she manage to slink through Pyrope's fingers. And as to make it worse, they don't even have enough evidence to put her on trial. Sadly enough dad's like _you_ when it comes to the ladies."

Cronus was about to argue, but was interrupted by a waiter who came to take their order and leave their drinks. But you could still see the strong disapproval of Eridan's choice in words in Cronus's glance, which somewhat just amused Eridan. He had succeeded in pushing two of Cronus weaker spots in less than an hour. Perfect.

"Do you think we can do somethin' about it then? You know, make dad understand?" Eridan continued once the waiter was gone . In response, he received only a slight shrug from his brother. It might not have been so smart to antagonize him

"I don't think so. He has to become broke before he realize and I don't think that's possible. Unless his career ends and his business falls apart." Cronus scratched his chin, trying to stay calm.

True, he owned a steady rank within politics and with that he had his import company, which he ran on the side, to back him up. Not a chance that something like that would happen in the near future. Maybe it was only one thing left to do, but that he could not speak highly of. Instead, he chose to end the conversation on Mathilda by asking Cronus about his career and plans, which seemed to get him on some fairly better mood and they were soon swallowed up by a new thread.

* * * *

Around one and a half hours later, with full stomachs, they both arrived outside Cronus's apartment. The surroundings somewhat reminded him about the yard outside Karkat's place and he began to wonder if the same people hadn't thrown their trash away just outside these places to annoy him. The shallow smell from some bags closer to the door made Eridan twitch his nose as he walked past it and hurried inside as fast as he could, right after Cronus that was. 

”God fuckin' damn it Cro! How can you live outside all a this?” Eridan took a deep breath as soon as the smell disappeared, not that it helped but it made him calm down some. 

”Meh, best place I could find so I just deal with it the best way I can. I ignore it. It will be gone tomorrow so I don't even bother with it, why waste energy on something you can't fix.” Cronus gave him a quick smile before he unlocked a door on the right side. At least he wouldn't have to walk up a bunch of stairs, which was nice for a change. ”Well, welcome to my place, lil brother!”

The first thing Eridan noticed about Cronus apartment was the mess. It looked liked it was the standard layout for someone living alone, one room and a toilet. His bed was standing on a corner right next to the TV. There was no sofa so he guessed the bed worked like one. Beside the bed was a big shelf filled with overused books and some films. Not all for kids under 18, he guessed. 

There was some kind of rug on the floor, but he was unable to see it under all the trash and clothing hiding it from its former pride. There was a door, which he guessed was the bathroom and then it was a small kitchen on the left corner right beside the door. A stove, a refrigerator and a dirty counter in between. 

”I'm startin' to miss the smell outside.” Eridan said as he walked inside and closed the door behind him. God, if their dad would ever see this mess... it was really going down for his brother. 

”Ain't like dad's house, I know. But, it's all about what you really need and not what you think you need.” Cronus laughed and scooped up some dirty clothes of the floor to make way to a lonely armchair further in. He hadn't even noticed it before. 

”What you need is a cleanin' lady.” He answered while he tried to walk over to the armchair without touching anything on the floor with his shoe. There was no way he was ever going to take his shoes off inside this apartment. 

”Oh, funny. I just hadn't had the time to clean ya know. Too much work.” Cronus threw the clothes inside the bathroom, closed the door and walked over to the bed before he sat down. ”I'm not even going to ask about your thoughts on this place, your face is saying more than I need to know.” 

Sure it was, he didn't really care, as usual. He just wanted to know what Cronus wanted to talk about that couldn't be said on the restaurant. The only reason Eridan had agreed to going to Cronus place to begin with, a big mistake though. 

”Whatever. Can we just skip to that part where you tell me somethin' that's so awful that restaurant staff can't hear it?” He glued his eyes onto his brother, waiting for an answer. Cronus began to chew a little on his lower lip, he looked like he tried to form a sentance in his head. 

”Well it's not like they can't hear it, it's more like... I wasn't sure on how you would react to what I have to say so I rather wanted it to be just between you an' me.”

This made Eridan move a little in the armchair, not feeling too comfortable with his answer. If he wanted to take it private like this it must be a question that would surely set him in a bad mood. Instead of showing his insecurity he nodded and waited for his brother to continue. 

”Uh so... I've been thinking about how you've been acting this past year. Well it's not just me, some other have noticed it too. Like, you've become very isolated and you seem to have a thing for... you're a wisecrack. The bad kind. You kinda have this thing for... you know, you like running over people for some reason and to feel more powerful than they.” Cronus stopped, his eyes moving against a poster behind Eridan's head. ”You seem so... dark, like you have a grudge against everyone that doesn't mean something to you! And I began to wonder if it had something to do with what happened... before. You know... the thing and maybe... just maybe, you should go back into talking with someone about it?”

Cronus had been smart by not talking about this in the open where everyone could see them because as he kept talking Eridan became more and more stiff and his gaze had turned into a strong unlikning for the conversation, though this time Cronus didn't change the topic and he wasn't planning on it either. 

Eridan's right hand was trembling and he did his best to hide it by putting his both hands against his body and with a loud snort he ignored his brothers words. 

”Who told you about this, who told you to talk to me about this? _We_ haven't barely talked for a fuckin' year so _who_ told you? Was it _dad_? No? Then who!” He didn't mean for his words to sound so harsh but he couldn't help it, that part about 'talking with someone' had pulled a trigger. There was no way he would ever sit down and talk to some weird psychologist that would stare at him until he remembered every single part of his awful life. That would go so deep inside his brain until there was nothing to hide anymore. He'd done it once and that had been enough! 

”Eridan, geez, calm down! No, it wasn't dad. It was Meenah. Or well not Meenah, more like that her sister talked to her and she later told me. Only because she cares, alright, so calm down. Please! You don't have to talk to someone if you don't wanna, I'm just saying it might be a good idea. No one can force you. I just don't think you're as well as you're trying to pretend you are. I mean...” Cronus got quiet again, now looking concerned and disgusted. 

”What? That the thing I went through just isn't goin' to disappear? Of course not! I was five years old and way to small to understand what was happenin'. But talkin' about it won't change shit, so I won't. Fef got nothin' on me an' I would be glad if it stayed that way.” Eridan took a deep breath to calm himself down. He knew his temper all too well. ”No one got nothin' on me and I would be thankful if you never brought that up, ever again. Okay? I just... don't want to remember an' whatever I do or however I might act, it's not your business so don't act like it is. No one really cares anyway, right?” 

”Eridan... that's not true. I-” 

”My problem is my own burden and so be it. No one cares and no one should care. If you'll excuse me, I have to go.” Eridan rose up from the armchair, quickly took away his arm once Cronus tried to grab it before he hurried over to the front door. He had to get out, now, before anything happened. He just had to clear his head a bit.

”Eridan, don't go!” 

But it was too late, the door closed behind him and Cronus was left alone in his apartment while Eridan rushed out from the buildning and against his car.


End file.
